R.I.P. Richard Griffiths

Richard Griffiths, who appeared in five Harry Potter movies, has died following complications from heart surgery. He was 65. The veteran British actor won an Olivier Award for originating the role of Hector in Alan Bennet’s stage play The History Boys in 2004. He subsequently won a Tony for the same role in the Broadway transfer and also starred in the 2006 film. He started his career in the theater, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company after studying drama in Manchester. He later appeared in such films as The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Gorky Park, Chariots Of Fire, Gandhi, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Apart from The History Boys, he was perhaps best known for playing two uncles: Harry Potter‘s muggle Uncle Vernon Dursley and the predatory Uncle Monty in the cult British classic Withnail & I. Griffiths also had myriad TV roles including foodie detective Henry Crabbe in 1990s BBC series Pie In The Sky. Last year, he starred with Danny Devito in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at London’s Savoy Theatre.